Wizardry isn’t all house points and chasing golden balls around on sticks you know – it’s serious stuff! Out in the real world where the real wizards can be found, it’s a matter of frantic survival, with only your pointy hat and staff for protection. There are constant wizard duels occurring too, and these aren’t limited to just one versus one; we’re talking multi-bearded conflicts with magical words being shouted in every direction.

Spellbound captures this real life wizard bloodsport and has actually just opened its doors to the public, inviting them to compete themselves. There are several things you need to learn about wizard fights before you can really excel, and none of it involves having a scar on your forehead. Firstly, you need to know that Spark is a rather good spell and you should you get near a wizard using it against you, you’ll likely end up dead. Secondly, despite having a top down view of your wizard, you will get sneak attacked and this can be very deadly. Thirdly, be very careful with how much of your mana you use as its regeneration speed is based on how much you have – the more mana you have the faster it will regenerate. This means that if you go in for the attack you’re going to be left vulnerable for a short period of time afterwards.

If you’re up for giving Spellbound a go, you can play the early alpha version by downloading it from here, and yes it supports single and multiplayer. Take heed of our teachings and you should do alright, young fledgling. If you really like the game then it’s most certainly worth considering helping to further the game’s development over on Kickstarter. Otherwise, check out the developer’s official website for more information.

Giant red robots, detailed fiery backgrounds, industrial settings and smoky orange explosions. Ain’t it gorgeous? We’re suddenly back in the 90s with outrageous lime green clothing and fizzy drinks with actual sugar in them. Retromite’s focus on 16-bit pixel art renders many with a sense of nostalgia, and for that reason it should certainly not go amiss. Hence why we’re making up for it now – look at it and drink it in!

Retromite first hit it off with A.R.C.S for mobile devices as well as a free browser based game on BigDino, as well as other portals. It’s an attempt to take the simple gameplay of traditional castle defense games and offer a little more depth via a soft vs hard target system and a clever multi-kill system. Can’t say we’re a massive fan of the soundtrack, or even some of the sound effects in the game, but visually it’s bloody stunning!

A.R.C.S is also available on Desura, the Mac App Store and the official store now, for a price, oddly enough. What does this add? It’s described as a “deluxe” version which takes away the adverts and supports fullscreen. To those turning up their nose, you’ll be supporting an indie developer remember? That feels good.

The follow up to A.R.C.S is a slightly more shameful 2D action title by the name of RobotRiot. Shameful merely because it re-uses many of the art assets from Retromite’s previous game, and somehow looks a little worse. That’s mainly the fault of the backgrounds and the not-so-hot sound effects. As a fun bit of robot shooting action though, it’s quite adequate and it only pales in comparison to Retromite’s previous title.

RobotRiot is similarly available on Desura, the Mac App Store and the official store for the same low price.

Now, what’s all this about teasing a new game? Well, it looks the robots are being chucked out of the proceedings for this new title. Luckily the 16-bit pixels are still very much present and looking gorgeous as ever. In fact, maybe even more so because they’re depicting nature rather than the destruction of civilisation. Not to get caught up in petty admiration, but the detail in the grass, rocks and trees is something worth pointing out.

The game is teased on the official website with the above image only, which fortunately does mean that a release should be soon if we’re to make the assumption that “Summer 2012″ is reliable. But we do have more details, courtesy of a lovely interview conducted over on RGCD. Those of you who jumped up in joy at the sight of an elf-like person riding a wildboar, you better hold on to the ground while your legs flail in the air once again.

“…it will be a game where you play a test-driver for new fantasy mounts. Different worlds, Monster chases, many mounts and a tragic 32

Six months ago, the train heading to Timelapse Vertigo was derailed and henceforth delayed. It’s been brushed up and hoisted back onto the tracks since, and it’s also been renamed. That may fool a few, but those who were following the game’s development will most certainly recognise the unmistakeable blend of Metro 2033′s setting and the gameplay of the original Fallout games in Underrail.

Timelapse Vertigo was a game that most would have ignored many months ago due to it looking quite lacklustre. Its resurrected self is quite the beauty though, for its much improved art and gameplay depth as seen in the newly released alpha gameplay. About the only thing that could really do with tweaking is the interface, but there’s plenty of time for that. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, you’ll no doubt want to know more about what this wonderful game entails?

As said, it’s almost a near-perfect cross of Fallout and Metro 2033. The story goes that the Earth’s surface is uninhabitable and so those who have survived are doing so underground. Much of the game is based around the ‘underrail’, which is a vast system of metro station-states of which your custom made character will be a member of. You’ll soon get caught up in the violence of the warring factions but that’s not your focus. Instead, the last hope for humanity, whatever it may be, is your mission but you can’t expect your journey to be easy with all of the conflict surrounding these dark tunnels.

Underrail plays out as a tactical, turn-based RPG, in which character stats and equipment is hugely ranged and determines your effectiveness in the many situations that will present themselves. Much has to be revealed but anyone who has played these deep RPG experiences before should know what to expect. Combat is a big focus and nothing has been said about if there is a way to avoid combat altogether – which is often a test to see how diverse an RPG really is.

The alpha gameplay sees the developer playing as a sniper with some psi abilities, such as going stealthy in the invisible sense. There are of course many other weapons up for grabs, as well as energy shields and throw explosives for instance. Again, details are pretty scarce but there is mention of an “elaborate” item crafting system too. It’s not all green tunnels and railway tracks either; you’ll also come across natural caverns and abandoned building complexes, all of which hide secret areas to find. Not everything living is a threat either, in the most punk looking of survivor groups are looking for a helping hand if you wish to give it to them. It’s a pretty safe bet that most of the creatures roaming around are pretty hostile though.

If, like us, you’re interested in Underrail then most certainly check out the game’s website and regularly from now on too – the developer claims that now the six months of silence is broken, frequent updates will be provided.

Back in 2005, a turn-based strategy game made it into the finalist lineup at the IGF, that would be Lux. The game may be getting old but that doesn’t stop it getting involved in those bundle sales that these whipper snappers are so fond of. There is a missed opportunity here though – the sale price is a set $4.99 – why isn’t it determined by dice roll? That would have conjured up a few smiles for sure!

Well maybe not. There are a number of grumpy people around, but only because they constantly lose against the more lucky players in games such as Lux, and of course Risk which is what the strategy game is based on. It’s a little more educational than that though, having expansions that delve into American History and Ancient Empires. There’s still plain old Lux for those who don’t care for digging up the past, though they are included in the bundle. And saying “plain old Lux” is actually wrong as well, considering it is the fabulously titled Lux Delux that you’ll get as part of the deal. This upgraded version has 800 maps to compete on and the online multiplayer is still intact, so saying you run out of things to do in the game is absolute bull.

If you’re looking for something a little different then you’ll be pleased to hear that Castle Vox is also included in the deal. Inspired by Diplomacy and Axis & Allies, this board game variant has players taking simultaneous turns to out do each other. Variation comes aplenty here too, with maps spanning the American Revolution, Hades, Japan, Napoleonic Wars, Native America, Outer Space, and the Roman Empire. Did we mention that there’s a map editor as well? If simultaneous play sounds a bit too hectic then there are other modes to try out, even on turn per day if you so wish. At the other end of the scale is fast speed wars for those who consider themselves a bit manic and a bit of strategy master with it.

You can find out more information on the games from Sillysoft, all of which are bundled up in this sale for a cool $4.99, over on the official website.

This weekend marks the duration of the 48 hour game jam held in Philidelphia, more commonly referred to as the Philly Game Jam. Ten developer teams will be working furiously to create their jam games, and having fun all the while. There are some rewards to be handed out which fall under the following categories: Best Use of Theme, Most Innovative, Judges’ Choice and WTF?

What is the theme though? Well, the Philly Game Jam has partnered up with the International Indie Games Day so that the theme is the same as the one for both jams. It’s a picture, the one seen below in fact:

As the Philly Game Jam finishes on June 17th, so does the submission deadline for the games to be part of the Indie Games Day celebrations on June 25th. If you’ve made a game in seven days or less and want to submit it to be part of the celebrations then you need to sign up with the website and then you’ll be able to upload it via the FTP.

International Indie Games Day is intended to celebrate indie games – no more, no less. By submitting your game then it will be made available for people to play for free and may even win a prize during the event.

It almost passed us by, but today is the day of the Exodus alpha release! Hurrah! To give your memory glands a shake, this is the game that we’ve been comparing to Oddworld quite a bit – the 2D metroidvania-like platformer with rather good art. We haven’t got around to playing it ourselves yet but from what we’ve seen it’s worth giving the game at least a try.

You’ll be sneaking past little snoozing creatures, jumping across lava, solving small puzzles and avoiding some pretty large spiders. As well as the colorful exploration parts outside, you’ll be heading into more challenging areas we’re told are called Extractors. It is in these parts that the real platforming begins, though the gameplay footage shown so far shows none of this. However, the alpha does apparently contain glimpses of this gameplay.

There’s two playable characters as well, which we suspect have different abilities, though without having played the game yet we can’t say for sure. Just go to this page and click on the download link to grab yourself the alpha build. Then you can tell us how you find it to be – we’ll give our own impressions soon!

Multiplayer shooters are ten a penny these days, but ones with this much history – originating as a super-popular Half-Life mod – are rare. Add in the fact that Unknown Worlds are a tiny indie team producing graphics on par with the best AAA studios, and Natural Selection 2 becomes a far more enticing treat than most.

The game is still penned in for a Summer 2012 release date (so ‘any time now’, strictly speaking), and while things could slip further into the year, it seems unlikely. Especially as they’ve chosen the peak of June to release a new and impressively well-produced trailer. Catch an eyeful of alien bio-goo and caseless space-machinegun fire below.

Exciting stuff, showing off a whole lot of terrestrial and aerial combat. Keep in mind that all of this runs on Unknown Worlds’ own proprietary engine. It’s a rather fancy piece of kit, with a much greater focus on dynamic lighting (so that aliens can plunge regions of the map into darkness) than many of the big commercial engines out right now. This trailer in particular is showing off the latest map, Docking, and will apparently be available to beta pre-order folks as of Build 210.

The game is currently available for pre-purchase from the official site for $35, which gets you Steam access off the bat. We’ll be digging deeper into the alien hives for a full review once the coveted Version 1.0 rolls round. Skip watching the skies, though – keep your eyes on the ceiling. Never know when something might come scuttling overhead.

Coming off the back of the release of their guide to self-publishing, UK gaming industry trade association, TIGA have now said that they believe self-publishing to be the future of the entire industry. This came as a reaction to a study carried out by PricewaterhouseCooper in which it was said that wireless gaming would be worth a grand sum of $1.3 billion by 2016.

“Digital distribution on platforms such as Steam, the App Store, Google Play, PSN, Xbox Live and WiiWare have made it second nature for consumers to download games direct rather than visit a retailer,” TIGA CEO Richard Wilson said.

“TIGA believes – and the figures in America seem to back us up – that this is the future of gaming and that developers who still rely on traditional routes to market must change with the times. The UK industry is geared up for self-publishing, with more and more developers going it alone and decided on producing games for digital distribution channels.”

Of course, with seemingly everyone looking to self-publish via digital platforms, the competition is increasingly tough. This is why marketing and online interaction is absolutely vital in this day and age, even more so in the future. Establishing a rapport with your players, releasing trailers and screenshots as well as jumping on any opportunity to get you and your game known to the public is without a doubt the most important skills for a self-publisher, also known as an indie game developer. Experimenting with marketing and promotion should sit aside your creative game design ideas.

“Self-publishing is an exciting area filled with challenges, risks but great opportunities,” added TIGA Creative Director Jason Kingsley.

“Developers can increasingly seize control over their own destiny. Self-publishing gives developers more freedom to be creative with content and business models, ultimately driving the industry in the UK forward whilst cementing its reputation for producing innovative products.”

Via PocketGamer

Hey, you know that game you’ve never heard of? Mine- something or other. You have a randomly generated world in which you gather resources, dodge zombies and exploding creatures and build pretty much whatever you feel like. Oh and you can bring friends in as well, if you so wish. Ring any bells? Well anyway, the Xbox 360 Edition of it released some time ago and now its first patch is coming out today.

Don’t get too excited though! It’s not a major content update or anything like that. What it should bring to you is a more pleasant and smoother experience due to the many fixes. There are some new features as well too. Those include an autosave function, an interfact opacity slider and a co-ordinate display for the in-game map. At this point you should be making generic studio audience cheers and hollers.

Here’s the full list for those who like that kind of thing. What’s that? When is the first content update for the game coming? We still don’t know – keep it in your pants for now, please.

Features:

• Added an autosave, and the ability to turn autosave off, or set it from 15 minutes up to 2 hours in 15 minute steps.
• Split the sensitivity controls into an in-game sensitivity and an in-menu sensitivity.
• Added an Interface Opacity slider in the settings for plasma screen users.
• Added a gamertag display in splitscreen, and the ability to enable/disable it in the settings.
• Added an option in the settings menu to enable/disable in-game hints.
• Added an option in the settings menu to enable/disable tooltips.
• Added a co-ordinate display to the in-game map.
• Added new sections in the How To Play on Multiplayer, Sharing Screenshots, and What’s New.
• Added a warning message when attempting to place lava near the spawn area.

Fixes:

• Fix for the leaderboard crash when toggling between filters/leaderboards.
• Fix for server disconnect message appearing when offline or in leaderboards.
• Fix for issue where posting a screenshot to Facebook caused a back out to the main menu.
• Fix for clay generation.
• Fix for ‘Awaiting Approval’ showing all the time on some signs.
• Various crafting menu fixes.
• Fix for being able to stand on sugarcane.
• Fix for intermittent crash on saving.
• Fix for duplication bug with the furnace and dispenser.
• Fix for not being able to place water near the spawn area.
• Fix for intermittent problem on entering the Nether putting the player above the Nether world.
• Fix for frame-rate drop around the edge of the world.
• Fix for intermittent problem where some achievements were not being awarded.
• Fix for graphical issue with stairs.
• Fix for issue with enemies spawning inside a house when they shouldn’t.
• Fix for Zombie Pigmen not being counted for leaderboard scores.

You can purchase Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition over on the Xbox Live Marketplace for 1600 MSP.

Water isn’t cute. It’s probably one of the most un-cute things in the world. You can drown in it. Slap some goggly eyes on it, however, and you’ve got something almost unbearably cute. A little watery friend for you that has no fear; find an obstacle that he can’t find a way around. As Bruce Lee once referred to, water can take any shape and can transfer between three forms of matter – it’s the ultimate…thing!

If you haven’t yet realised how crazy water is, then Blossom Minds’ Walter will help you out with that. The titular watery bundle of joy is under your command as he takes on a wretched oil company. The result is a platformer with a lot going for it. No obstacle is a match for a creature that can be gaseous, liquid and solid if the circumstance is right – how you going to defeat that?! Possibly through diffusion, actually. But who would be so cruel to something so cute?

Walter is due for a release in 2013 on PSN, XBLA and Steam so there’s no use in getting too pumped up about it right now. However, you should most certainly watch the trailer and make “d’awww” sounds at your monitor before getting a little plastic bag, a pair of googly eyes and a tap and making your own Walter toy. Hey, maybe we should sell them as unofficial merchandise… Well if you want the official stuff, you should head over to the Blossom Minds website.